The Black Lodge presents “Mother of Abominations”, a split EP between Circling Vultures (Justin Aulis Long & Kenneth Zawacki) and Balance Angel (Bill Converse and Domokos) with a Kosmik edit.
001.Features
Gamma Intel – Automatic Illusion [BT38MNC02]
Having debuted on the label with Drama in Decay, Gamma Intel returns after having become a regular fixture across European basements. His third outing sees the Rotterdam-based producer building on his previous output while incorporating an increasing wider palette of sounds. Automatic Illusion delivers his signature restrained and swaggering productions tapping into slow acid, breakbeat and electro.
Borusiade – Misfits of Broken Dreams [PBD20]
Borusiade’s ‘Misfits of Broken Dreams’ puts a futuristic twist on industrial electronics, fusing it with spaced out drones and detached, yet bold spoken word by the artist herself. Rugged tribal rhythms and rumbling bass complete the picture, and you’re left with an immersive ride leaving you somewhere inbetween fight-or-flight and gloomy despondency.
VA – Squirrels On Acid [SOFWHITE002]
In the era of micro dosing, Squirrels On Film will provide you with a generous portion of the good stuff. Build your Acid House into an Acid Pleasure Fantasy Castle Extravaganza with the current selections from these various squirrels (on Acid). Solar’s “Unless You Have Wings Like a Bat” will conjure the ghosts of rave past for the séance, and all your funky friends have been invited. The Warehouse has drum machines in the red, and skeletons in the closet, all wearing smiley face masks and handing you gel tabs you probably shouldn’t take. Chris Mitchell hits next with “trks.” The dystopian dance party is on tonight. There’s no going back. You’re too far gone. The walls only appear to be shaking and breathing heavily like they’re dancing and you’re standing still. Sepehr jacks the tab further on “Servant’s Taunt” like the Criminal Justice Act had never been passed. It could be Miami Bass or a field in England but it’s a party, and everyone’s eyes are perfectly dilated. Bayview Acid Squirrels “Love Is The Slug” is pure phuture phantasy pleasuredome meltdown.
Pickled People – Pickled People [MC033]
Mint Condition is a record label focused on excavating the outer fringes of classic House and Techno. This 12″ is a rare diamond, another set of smooth and acidic jams from London 90’s potent tech-house underground, a rich and rewarding scene. Pickled People is the dynamic duo of Terry Francis & Jiten Acharya.
Versalife – Asimov’s Code [VIS316]
Versalife’s second release for 20/20 Vision sees Dutch producer Boris Bunnik aka Conforce return with another slab of signature electro. ‘Clandestine Development’ serves up dark tones and melodies layered within insistent electro beats and growling bass, that sounds huge on big room systems. ‘Aegis’ delivers a double dose of mechanical funk, played over atmospheric strings and auditory acid delights. On the B side ‘Lamba’ continues to impress with a moody laidback bass line holding the groove down over a solid rhythm & dystopian keys. Wrapping things up the title track ‘Asimov’s Code’ plays out like war drums from space pounding away after a blissful intro of building synths.
Plant43 – Red Horizon – Electric Eclectics Ghost Series [FUND018EE026]
Fundamental Records’ interesting electro music project called ”Electric Eclectics” comes with the additional ”Ghost Series”. Each record is a picture of the electro music released in the line that Fundamental Records has us accustomed, each sleeve silkscreen printed by hand in the same color of the vinyl record. Talk about the music itself is something that Fundamental Records try to avoid in each release, if you want to know why you only have to check the project Music for The Other People Place to understand this philosophy.
Kuldaboli – Heilastormur [STILLEBEN055]
Kuldaboli is part of the Stilleben family and has helped define its sound with his searing take on electro. This time around he dials back the crazy and offers up some more thoughtful and mysterious electro that kicks off with the bottom-wiggling boom bap and gurgling bassline of “Eolileg Mannvera”. Things slow down on the more eerie and unsettling “Kaldir Straumar” then its an all out computer game assault on “Lazer Tag” which is pristine digital perfection. “Where Are You” is a real floor wrecker and last of all alien life forms inhabit the haunting “Vakan Endalausa”.
Dalo – Punch [ESP095]
DALO aka Nadia D’Alò emerged at the ESP Institute in 2018 with a brutal remix for Benedikt Frey’s Private Games. Having been floored by her sinister aesthetic and stripped-back approach to production, as well as being long time fans of INIT (her collaborative project with Benedikt), the ESP institute was compelled to commission a dedicated solo work. Across four beastly tracks, Nadia pulls from a gritty palette of instrumentation, combining ritualistic drums, industrial percussion and scratchy acid lines with a blurry montage of demonic sighs and whispers. The result is deeply hypnotic.
DJ Richard – Eraser [FLEXXSEAL009]
DJ Richard’s first release of 2019 sees him drop four invigorating electro tracks on Flexxseal titled ”Eraser”. Emerging from the Providence noise scene, DJ Richard forges a path of disciplined selectiveness as a producer and DJ with his idiosyncratic style allowing him to make impressive, self-assured connections between 80s EBM, new beat and Italo disco, electro, techno and ”post-minimalist” house. DJ Richard’s feral approach evolved from the roots of his White Material imprint which quickly achieved cult status after early releases from himself and co-founders Galcher Lustwerk and Young Male.
Fractions – Constellations [RET007]
Prague based duo Fractions presents their full EP for Rotterdam Electronix. A true breakbeat alliance counting down till the end of times. Comes with Lenson reclock on the flip.
Orlando Voorn – Diligence Pt.1 [ABPLP001]
Dutch Techno master Orlando Voorn has opened up his archive for the first of what will be an ongoing artist focused series brought to you by new imprint Above Board Projects. The compilation will be spread across 2 double 12″ volumes and will feature tracks from many of Voorn’s pseudonyms including; Fix, Baruka, The Ghetto Brothers, Mute & many more. This is the first of a 2-part archival collection entitled ‘Diligence’. Each track featured on the compilation has been carefully selected and programmed in conjunction with Orlando Voorn and the Above Board Projects team. Voorn has an extremely long and storied career in making music and is severely underrated as a producer. His DJ skills are, of course, legendary, with him winning the prestigious DMC mixing championships in 1986 in his native Holland and making a career as one of the country’s leading Hip-Hop DJ’s. As a producer he has long been linked to numerous legendary producers and releases, counting labels such as Fragile, Metroplex and more as homes for his output. His association and collaborations with Detroit have been the stuff of legend since day one and some of the music contained within these compilations celebrate that while showcasing some of the more overlooked tracks from the man’s more than extensive catalogue. Part 1 includes some serious rarities and some straight up, futurist Techno heat, take the majestic technoid melodies of comp opener ‘Diligent’ from one of Voorn’s most well loved alias’ FIX for example, completely worlds apart from the jacking and sparse Funk of Baruka’s killer ‘Technision’. Flawless selections from the early 90’s sitting alongside later productions only go to show how diverse and talented an artist Voorn is and how fresh and vital his music still is today. An essential collection for any serious techno lover.
Dimi Angélis – Inverse Theory [MORD064]
Pacou – 4 Trax On Wax [RE30307]
Four hard acid techno tracks from Pacou, limited to 303 copies, pressed on heavyweight solid blue vinyl and mastered by 6BIT DEEP in Copenhagen.
VA – Radio Verde (Compiled by Americo Brito and Arp Frique) [CW003]
Arp Frique returns with a brand new release on his imprint Colorful World Records in collaboration with Rush Hour. A compilation of 12 Cape Verdean gems assembled with the help and knowledge of Americo Brito, there is a very special story behind it. Americo Brito, who features on Arp Frique’s original Nos Magia, is a proud and important member of the Cape Verdean community in Rotterdam. His story reveals the historical connections between radio, vinyl, Cabo Verde and Rotterdam’s international music scene in the 70s and 80s. Cape Verdeans have migrated all over the world, mainly to cities with big harbours, like New York, Boston and Rotterdam (Holland). Rotterdam became one of the main destinations (next to Portugal) on the European mainland. When Americo, like many of his friends and relatives moved to Rotterdam, he quickly became infected with the music virus. Surrounded on a daily basis by Cape Verdean music in Portuguese pensions and small hotels, this was where sailors ingested a dose of “sodade” through the interpretations of their beloved music by the local Cape Verdean artists. Americo took to the stage with his band Djarama in the 70s and 80s. Here he works with Rotterdam local Arp Frique to serve up Cape Verdean music old and new with plenty of traditional Funana and Coladeira sounds next to jams influenced by wave, disco and funk, jazz, reggae and Latin pop.
Derek Carr – Reset EP [TRECS002]
Derek Carr re-launches his own label Trident Recordings with Reset EP. Four house tracks in his signature style.
Trackstars – Untitled [LIES138]
Patrick Cowley – Mechanical Fantasy Box [DE269LP]
Patrick Cowley was one of the most revolutionary and influential figures in the canon of electronic dance music. Born in Buffalo, NY on October 19, 1950, Patrick moved to San Francisco in 1971 to study electronic music at the City College of San Francisco. By the late ’70s, Patrick’s synthesizer techniques landed him a job composing and producing songs for disco diva Sylvester, including #1 hit “You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)”. Cowley created his own brand of peak-time party music known as Hi-NRG, also dubbed “The San Francisco Sound.” By 1981 Patrick had released a string of his own dance 12″ singles, such as “Menergy” and “Megatron Man”. That year, he co-founded Megatone Records to release his debut album Megatron Man. Meanwhile, Patrick was hospitalized and diagnosed with an unknown illness, which would later be named AIDS. Recovering for a spell, in 1982 he composed two more #1 hits, “Do You Wanna Funk” for Sylvester, and “Right On Target” for Paul Parker, as well as a second solo album Mind Warp. His life was cut short on November 12, 1982, when he passed away two weeks after his 32nd birthday from AIDS-related illness.
Mechanical Fantasy Box is a new collection of 13 unreleased songs recorded between 1973-80 released in tandem with Cowley’s homoerotic journal of the same title. What you hold in your hand is a collection of Cowley’s work from the years preceding his meteoric rise as a pioneer of Hi-NRG dance music. This was before drum machines. Before programmable, polyphonic digital synthesis, this is experimental music in every sense. Sounds flows from funk to kraut to psychedelic ambient electronics inspired by Tomita and Kraftwerk. As David Diebold stated in Tribal Rites, “Patrick Cowley parted the veil and entered a dark world of forbidden forces, wondrous musical panoramas and bold, strident, hopeful possibilities. Patrick brought the future to us and laid it at our feet.”
Proceeds from Mechanical Fantasy Box will be donated to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, who have been committed to ending the pandemic and human suffering caused by HIV since 1982.
Umberto – Outskirts of Reno [GD034]
Giallo Disco welcomes one of the absolute O.Gs of the 2nd wave of horror synth, the one and only Kansas City Warrior turned Mr Dr Hollywood himself… Umberto, who’s new EP ‘Outskirts Of Reno’ takes us deep into the seedy underbelly to tell the tale of a kidnapping. From the EBM dancefloor darkness of The Basement to the ascension-like arps of Repeat. Five brand new tracks from the master of mood destined to work it’s way into the record bags of discerning DJs across the globe… and into the nightmares of the weak…
Francisco & Malkuth – Voodoo Island [GD033]
Franscico & Malkuth make their debut on Giallo Disco with a tropical storm of magic house and slowbeat savagery, creeping flesh island songs from the lost discotheques of Matool. Six slices of cosmic-moodiness from one of the best producers and finest DJs in the game. ‘Voodoo Island’ is the perfect soundtrack to your next Superyacht bloodbath or post-apocalyptic Chicago duel at sunset.
The Hipodrome Of Music 